Members of the Ku Klux Klan dress in full robes for a protest in Mississippi. (AP Photo/The Clarion-Ledger, Ryan Moore)

(Newser)
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In hindsight, allowing students making a film about the history of racism to walk through a racially mixed rural Georgia high school in Ku Klux Klan robes wasn't a great idea, concedes high school teacher Catherine Ariemma. She has been placed on leave and may be fired after black students said they felt threatened and upset, and at least one parent lodged a formal complaint, AP reports.

Ariemma says she was escorting the students outside to film a section of their project and didn't realize they would walk through an area where they could be seen by others. "I feel terrible that I have students who feel threatened because of something from my class," Ariemma told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She says the students meant no harm and she stands by the project. "You cannot discuss racism without discussing the Klan," she said. "To do so would be to condone their actions."